So overwhelmed and just need to vent.

I feel like no matter what I do, I can't keep up with all the expenses and financial issues I have going on right now. I work as a waitress at a fairly lucrative restaurant in my area. I do rather well. For the last eight months or so, I have been single-handedly supporting myself, my little girl, and my boyfriend. Thankfully (god I never thought I'd say that...) we live with relatives, and so rent/mortgage payments are not part of our stress right now. Or should I say MY stress, since I am the only one working. My boyfriend recently graduated college, in December, and has been looking for a job since then. Half-heartedly, often making ME do all the searching and applying on his behalf, but looking nonetheless. Nothing has worked out thus far on that front.

I have student loans that are currently in default from my brief stint in college a number of years ago. In a few months my boyfriend will have to start paying off his loans also. I have some hospital bills, thankfully on the inexpensive side, that are gonna come a-knocking on my door any day now. Not to mention just the costs of living, and having a nine-month old. I also owe my mother a great deal of money, which I really need to pay back asap cause she isn't all that much better off than we are, but at least I know she isn't going to send me to jail.

I recently started looking for a second job just to try to keep up. I feel like I already don't spend enough time with my daughter, and working a second job I will see her even less. But I don't really see any other alternative. I've thought about getting a loan, just to pay off some of the other bills I have piling up, and that way only have one payment to make each month. But since my credit score is shot to hell due to my student loans, I very much doubt anyone would be willing to lend me any more money.

Anyone else out there with similar situations? Anyone else working two jobs to make ends meet? How do you handle it all? My boyfriend is an amazing, wonderful, caring person. He just isn't the brightest at times (though I know he could be a lot smarter than he is) and he relies on other people to help him and motivate him. But I'm getting sick of doing everything myself. Any advice? Anything at this point would be very much appreciated...

I feel like no matter what I do, I can't keep up with all the expenses and financial issues I have going on right now. I work as a waitress at a fairly lucrative restaurant in my area. I do rather well. For the last eight months or so, I have been single-handedly supporting myself, my little girl, and my boyfriend. Thankfully (god I never thought I'd say that...) we live with relatives, and so rent/mortgage payments are not part of our stress right now. Or should I say MY stress, since I am the only one working. My boyfriend recently graduated college, in December, and has been looking for a job since then. Half-heartedly, often making ME do all the searching and applying on his behalf, but looking nonetheless. Nothing has worked out thus far on that front.

I have student loans that are currently in default from my brief stint in college a number of years ago. In a few months my boyfriend will have to start paying off his loans also. I have some hospital bills, thankfully on the inexpensive side, that are gonna come a-knocking on my door any day now. Not to mention just the costs of living, and having a nine-month old. I also owe my mother a great deal of money, which I really need to pay back asap cause she isn't all that much better off than we are, but at least I know she isn't going to send me to jail.

I recently started looking for a second job just to try to keep up. I feel like I already don't spend enough time with my daughter, and working a second job I will see her even less. But I don't really see any other alternative. I've thought about getting a loan, just to pay off some of the other bills I have piling up, and that way only have one payment to make each month. But since my credit score is shot to hell due to my student loans, I very much doubt anyone would be willing to lend me any more money.

Anyone else out there with similar situations? Anyone else working two jobs to make ends meet? How do you handle it all? My boyfriend is an amazing, wonderful, caring person. He just isn't the brightest at times (though I know he could be a lot smarter than he is) and he relies on other people to help him and motivate him. But I'm getting sick of doing everything myself. Any advice? Anything at this point would be very much appreciated...

You do have a lot on your plate!! Your boyfriend is the one that needs to be getting a job and there is no reason why he can not get a job being a food server as well making tips can really help out and also still gives him the flexability to go on interviews. There is no excuse for him to not have a job while continueing to apply elsewhere. We have a tough economy right now and beggers can not be choosers. He should also look into getting a part time job at a store of some sort. HE SHOULD BE POUNDING THE PAVEMENT NOT YOU!!!

You do have a lot on your plate!! Your boyfriend is the one that needs to be getting a job and there is no reason why he can not get a job being a food server as well making tips can really help out and also still gives him the flexability to go on interviews. There is no excuse for him to not have a job while continueing to apply elsewhere. We have a tough economy right now and beggers can not be choosers. He should also look into getting a part time job at a store of some sort. HE SHOULD BE POUNDING THE PAVEMENT NOT YOU!!!

Thankfully, DH and I are in very stable decent careers. Now. The year we got married, we were both let go from our jobs, and times were really tough. We had to live with my parents for the first year of our marriage! If I were you, I would insist DB gets a job - any job - while waiting for his career to play out. That's what I did. I worked at a clothing retail store in the mall until I found a "real" full-time job, and I actually liked it so much, I kept it and worked a few hours each week just to keep my discount and make a few extra bucks. My husband also took a not-quite-perfect, part-time version of the job he wanted. He did that for a year and a half before he got the job he was waiting for. It's great, because you are preventing a gap in your resume, and gaining experience (any experience!) at the same time.

Thankfully, DH and I are in very stable decent careers. Now. The year we got married, we were both let go from our jobs, and times were really tough. We had to live with my parents for the first year of our marriage! If I were you, I would insist DB gets a job - any job - while waiting for his career to play out. That's what I did. I worked at a clothing retail store in the mall until I found a "real" full-time job, and I actually liked it so much, I kept it and worked a few hours each week just to keep my discount and make a few extra bucks. My husband also took a not-quite-perfect, part-time version of the job he wanted. He did that for a year and a half before he got the job he was waiting for. It's great, because you are preventing a gap in your resume, and gaining experience (any experience!) at the same time.

As the others said, it's really your boyfriend who needs to start pulling his own weight, and it's up to you to explain that to him. But just a tip that worked for my husband (back when we were still dating) when he was a recent graduate: he got a job with a temp agency. Over the course of a year and a half he worked 2 different jobs. (I think a lot of people think you're constantly bouncing around offices if you're a temp, which CAN be true, but very often you get something that's longer-term.) It gave him some job experience to add to his resume and the second office he worked for ended up hiring him outright after about nine months. It's not perfect because you don't get benefits, but it helps pay the bills.

As the others said, it's really your boyfriend who needs to start pulling his own weight, and it's up to you to explain that to him. But just a tip that worked for my husband (back when we were still dating) when he was a recent graduate: he got a job with a temp agency. Over the course of a year and a half he worked 2 different jobs. (I think a lot of people think you're constantly bouncing around offices if you're a temp, which CAN be true, but very often you get something that's longer-term.) It gave him some job experience to add to his resume and the second office he worked for ended up hiring him outright after about nine months. It's not perfect because you don't get benefits, but it helps pay the bills.

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